Disclaimer & site policy

Disclaimer & site policy

Welcome to the DVRCV website.

Disclaimer

The material provided on this web site is for information purposes only and is not a substitute for talking to a health professional or a counsellor. Every effort has been made to ensure that this information is accurate, however, site visitors should carefully evaluate its accuracy, currency and relevance for their purposes, and should get professional advice relevant to their particular circumstances.

The views or opinions expressed in websites linked to this site, or in articles not specifically written by the Domestic Violence Resource Centre Victoria do not necessarily reflect the views of the organisation.

This site contains links to a range of external web sites. DVRCV takes no responsibility for the content of such sites, nor do links to such sites imply endorsement of the views expressed by the organisations or individuals responsible for them. External links are provided for information purposes only.

Copyright

All information and materials on DVRCV's web site are copyright and, as such, are protected by the copyright laws of Australia. We encourage the use of material on this site by students, academics, service providers and members of the public. Apart from any use as permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, all other rights are reserved.

DVRCV gives permission for text on this site to be quoted, provided that the information is not used for profit or changed, and that the source is acknowledged appropriately (eg; 'Information from the Domestic Violence Resource Centre Victoria website, web address: http://www.dvrcv.org.au') . For more information about reproducing information on this website in a different format, or about the acknowledgement we require, please contact our Publications Coordinator on (03) 9486-9866 or email us, marked to the attention of the DVRCV Publications Coordinator.

User policy

A central part of this website is that it features real people's stories, and we provide advice here knowing that many of our readers are people who are experiencing or who have experienced real violence in their family lives.

We are therefore committed to making all our websites and social media platforms safer spaces.

This means that while we encourage debate and discussion here, we will not tolerate irrelevant, disrespectful, offensive, crude, and hateful comments. We retain the right to decide which comments will be approved, and also to remove or edit comments that we feel are hurtful, unhelpful or otherwise not consistent with the values of this website.

Comments will not be published if:

Your comment is off topic

Your comment doesn't add to the conversation

You attack other commenters

Your comment is considered by DVRCV moderators to be inappropriate

Please also keep in mind that we don't have the ability to monitor comments continuously or reply individually by anyone with professional expertise in dealing with personal, relationship or legal issues (like a psychologist, counsellor or lawyer).

For yours and others safety, we don't post comments that share urgent, identifying or distressing information. If you need help or you have experienced violence or sexual assault and require immediate or ongoing assistance, call 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732), to talk to a counsellor from the National Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence hotline.

If you are concerned for your safety or that of someone else, please contact the Police in your state or territory or call 000 for emergency assistance. If you see something that does not coincide with our user policy, please email dvrcv@dvrcv.org.au or contact us via this website.

Privacy

Domestic Violence Resource Centre Victoria Inc. (ABN 31 202 397 579) (DVRCV, we, us,and our) is committed to protecting the privacy of your personal information in accordance with the Australian Privacy Principles. This Privacy Policy explains how DVRCV manages the personal information that we collect, use and disclose and how to contact us if you have any further queries about our management of your personal information.

What is personal information?

Personal information is information or an opinion, in any form and whether true or not, about an identified individual or an individual who is reasonably identifiable. Examples include an individual's name, address, contact number and email address.

Sensitive information is a special category of personal information. Sensitive information includes health information and information about a persons' race, ethnic origin, religious or philosophical beliefs, sexual preferences and criminal history.

How does DVRCV collect personal information?

We may collect personal information in a variety of ways, including:

from you directly (such as when you interact with us in writing, electronically or by telephone);

when you communicate with us through our websites (such as when you submit feedback using our feedback forms or register for one of our training courses);

when you participate in one of our training courses or events; and

if you download and use the SmartSafe mobile app.

DVRCV does not typically collect information about individuals from any third parties.

What kinds of information does DVRCV collect?

The kinds of personal information we collect and hold about you will depend on the circumstances of collection, including whether we collect the information from you as a user of our resources, participant in one of our training courses, donor, supplier or job applicant or in some other capacity.

For example, if you email us as a user of our resources, we may collect your email address and any other information you choose to provide to us. How much of your personal information you choose to disclose to us is completely up to you.

If you register for one of our training courses, we may collect personal and contact details, employment information, academic history and background information collected for statistical purposes about prior education, schooling, place of birth, disabilities etc.

If you deal with us through downloading, installing and using the SmartSafe App, we will collect any information that you choose to disclose. This includes the records of your experience with family violence.

If you deal with us in some other capacity (for example, as a donor, supplier or job applicant), we may collect your name and contact details and any other information you choose to provide to us. We may also collect details of the interactions that you have with us.

If you are or become an employee of DVRCV, the handling of your personal information may be exempt from the Australian Privacy Principles if it is directly related to your current or former employment relationship with us.

Why does DVRCV collect personal information?

DVRCV collects personal information for a range of purposes, including to:

respond to enquiries;

administer our training courses;

process donations;

manage our relationships with our donors and sponsors and prospective donors and sponsors;

manage our relationships with our advisers, suppliers and volunteers

send our newsletter to persons who sign up for our newsletter;

provide our supporters with information about us and updates on our programs and projects;

operate the SmartSafe app;

conduct research and development; and

consider job applicants for current and future employment.

We may use your information for other purposes required or authorised by or under law (including purposes for which you have provided your consent).

If DVRCV is unable to collect personal information from or about you, we may not be able to communicate or do business with you.

Communications

If you sign up for our newsletter, we may use your personal information to contact you with DVRCV news, sector insights, updates on our programs and resources and employment opportunities.

You can let us know at any time if you no longer wish to receive these communications, by using the unsubscribe facility on our electronic messages or contacting us using the contact details at the end of this policy. Your consent will be deemed if you do not opt out when we offer you the opportunity to do so, and will remain current until you advise us otherwise.

When does DVRCV disclose personal information to third parties?

In conducting our operations, we may sometimes need to disclose personal information to third parties. This includes, where appropriate:

financial institutions for payment processing;

our contracted service providers, including:

- information technology service providers;

- marketing, promotional and market research agencies;

- external business advisors (such as auditors and lawyers); and

referees whose details you have provided to us.

We may also disclose your personal information to other third parties and for other purposes where we are required or authorised by or under law to do so (including where you have provided your consent).

Disclosure of personal information to overseas recipients

We use service providers located overseas to store the data provided by users of the SmartSafe app, including in the USA. As a result, personal information collected and held by DVRCV may be transferred overseas.

Quality and security of personal information

We take reasonable steps to ensure that personal information we collect, use and disclose is accurate, complete, up to date and relevant. You can help us by letting us know (using the contact details at the end of this policy) about any changes to your personal information, such as your address and phone number.

We may store your information in hard copy and/or in electronic form. We take reasonable steps to protect the personal information we hold from misuse, interference and loss, and from unauthorised access, modification or disclosure. This includes taking appropriate security measures to protect electronic materials and materials stored in hard copy.

Access to and correction of your personal information

Please contact us (using the contact details at the end of this policy) if you would like to access or correct the personal information we hold about you. We will generally provide you with access to your personal information (subject to some exceptions permitted by law), but may charge an access fee to cover the cost of retrieving the information and supplying it to you.

Collection of information other than personal information

Some of the information collected about your visit to our websites is not personal information, because it does not reveal your identity. For example, we may record your server address, the date and time of your visit, the pages you viewed, any documents you downloaded and the type of browser and operating system you used.

If collected, this information will be used and disclosed by DVRCV in anonymous, aggregated form only, for purposes including statistical analysis and web site development. You are not individually identified, however DVRCV reserves its right to use or disclose this information to try to locate an individual where we reasonably believe that the individual may have engaged in any unlawful or inappropriate activity in connection with our websites, or where we are otherwise required or authorised by law to do so.

Cookies

Our websites do not use cookies to collect information.

Complaints

Please contact us (using the contact details at the end of this policy) if you have any concerns or complaints about the manner in which DVRCV has collected or handled your personal information. DVRCV will inquire into your complaint and respond to you in writing within 30 days. If you are not satisfied with our response, you can contact us to discuss your concerns or lodge a complaint with the Australian Information Commissioner (www.oaic.gov.au).

Contact details and additional information

If you would like more information about DVRCV's approach to privacy, or if you wish to contact us regarding the information set out in this policy, please contact our Privacy Officer:

The views or opinions expressed in websites linked to this site, or in articles not specifically written by the Domestic Violence Resource Centre Victoria do not necessarily reflect the views of the organisation.